At TheKey Toronto, teams embrace a made-in-Canada approach to homecare. What does that mean? Timon Page, General Manager, TheKey Toronto answers four key questions on his team’s balanced approach to caregiving, and what seniors need to thrive at home.
1. Timon, you talk about TheKey’s Balanced Care Method ® . What’s it all about?
“The number one thing to understand about our approach is that it goes beyond supporting daily tasks. From the moment we meet a family, we get to the know the client. Then, we build a custom care plan just for them — one that connects the elements that bring value and meaning to that person’s life. Our caregivers live right here in the community, and they help us care for the whole person — supporting a client’s physical and mental wellbeing. That could include anything from adapting activities so that a senior can still enjoy a version of their hobbies to playing games that provide a little cognitive stimulation. We think big picture about caregiving, because we know living well at home spans many different aspects of life. This philosophy is a huge differentiator for us.”
2. What common themes do you hear when speaking with families that may need caregiver support for a senior?”
“Families often call us when they’ve already crossed the line and relatives are feeling burned out. In many cases, families don’t even realize how exhausted they are. They lose sight of their own needs. I love when we can come in and support families in this scenario with respite care. This is different from full-time, daily support. In these cases, we come in and provide either a short-term or a regularly scheduled break for the relatives who do a lot of the caregiving from day to day. Not everyone realizes that our services are scalable in this way. We can adapt to offer solutions for as little as a few hours, to full-time care.”
3. Are their any aspects of the Balanced Care Method ® that families find surprising?
“Many people don’t realize we can help a senior focus on nutrition. Families tend to call looking for help with toileting, bathing, that kind of support. But we can actually help seniors with so much more than that, all right here in the GTA. We can tackle meal prep, making sure seniors have a balanced diet and that they’re getting fresh foods with preventative and healing nutrients. We take all of that off a family’s plate.”
4. Tell us a bit about your local philosophy, services and approach.
“We’ve built our reputation by caring for clients with the same focus, empathy and energy that we’d invest supporting our own friends and relatives. We’re part of a great team in Canada. We support each other nationally, sharing best practices and new ideas. But our caregiving is absolutely local. Our caregivers live and work in our communities across Southwestern Ontario. From Waterloo to Hamilton, Burlington and Toronto: we’re really focused on matching the right caregiver to the right client to help seniors live their best possible lives at home, for as long as they can.”
